To Rebuild or Replace Your Boat Engines

Consider this: You are an ocean-trotting, horizon-chasing, deep-water fishing enthusiast, always keeping your lines tight and in search of hooking up with something really challenging. Your pride and joy is a tricked-out-to-the-nines, fully-found, big-shouldered sportfishing machine capable of providing you and your crew with extraordinary, exciting, and often lucrative adventures. As every seasoned boater knows, such adventures rely heavily on the performance of your boat’s engines. The question often arises: ‘To Rebuild or Replace Your Boat Engines?’ This is not just a technical decision but a strategic choice that affects both the capabilities and the future of your vessel.

“With any repower project, whether aboard a custom or production boat, requires a great deal of research,” says Capt. Rich Barrett, a veteran of similar undertakings who has been on Shark Byte, a 73-foot Bayliss build since the boat was contracted in 2009 and delivered in 2011. “We use the heck out of our boat and with the M94 MTUs at 2,600-hp each getting up there in hours, decided it was time. With those engines, we were on target to reach that hour benchmark where we would have to rebuild.”

Choosing Between To Rebuild or Replace Your Boat Engines

As owner and captain put their collective experience and knowledge together, after extensive research it was agreed upon to replace instead. “To do the teardown on the M94’s would require the engines to be taken out of the boat anyway, do the necessary work, put them on a dyno to check them out, and then back in,” Barrett says. “We would still have the old technology and, in the end, wind up with a limited warranty. With the new, and far superior M96’s possessing the latest and greatest technology, and for a full five-year warranty along with the resultant up-tick in performance, we went with the replacement.”

Besides deciding on whether to rebuild or replace, there is a downstream effect to take into account while you are going through the planning stages and is the kind of situation that can lead to a because-and-affect result: Because I am doing this, it will affect how much more this is going to cost.

Navigating the Complexities of Engine Removal

Firstly, those engines are not going to come out of your engine room willingly. Remember, they were installed when the boat was on the line and wide open. They are instead going to cause much fuss and bother, often resulting in having to cut that beautiful, highly varnished teak transom along with bulkheads, decking and perhaps your mezzanine, maybe move a genset, or two, and perhaps that wonderful Seakeeper gyro along with lots of other equipment in order to free them from their comfortable confines.

Then, there are the engine mounts and stringers, transmissions, shafts, struts, props, wiring, pump room contents, mufflers, plumbing, electronic controls and gauge clusters. Add installing that extra service hatch in the salon floor you always thought was missing along with some other upgrades, and any other part of the puzzle that will go into making things work smoothly and efficiently. And of course, the engine room will need to be repainted. Just saying.

Prepping for Major Marine Engine Projects

However, on the flip side, researching a top-notch yard, with the ultra-skilled veteran labor artisans and craftspeople necessary to make it all seem like it never happened should be a top priority before ordering new power or having your old ones rebuilt. Everything should be listed on whatever estimate, wish list, and built-in contingencies and timeline you are working on. And don’t forget geographical location and a suitable indoor, temperature-controlled work building to take bad weather out of the equation.

If this kind of major refit project is showing up on your radar screen, the optimum situation would be to have it done by your boat builder. They have the plans, layup schedule, and other background information to all but ensure a positive outcome. But if you are in the position of having to choose a yard, do not be penny-wise and dollar-foolish. Leave no stone unturned in selecting only the best and most capable of facilities and the one you are comfortable with. In these cases, reputation goes a long way.

Estimating Costs for Engine Replacement vs. Rebuild

“An important factor, which is usually the primary driving force in doing this, from the consumer standpoint, is of course costs,” says Brett Halavacs Regional Sales Manager for Johnson & Towers and Western Branch Diesel. “Choosing new versus old you will be getting all new warranties, and while one could rebuild with limited coverage on some parts, the decision should be looked at with a long-term perspective.”

A gauge to measure things by is with your engine manufacturer’s TBO, or Time Before Overhaul. “On given applications based on load profile and other calculations we provide our customers, as well as looking at certain emission certifications and degradation cycles and other factors, guidelines are provided to assist in making the right decision at the right time,” Halavacs says. “And remember, there is no such thing as a drop-in. There will always be challenges ahead when replacing machinery.”

Specifications

Completed: July 2011

Length: 73’

Beam: 20’

Draft: 5’3”

Original Power: (2) M94 MTUs with 2600 hp each

Genset: (2) 30 kw Northern Lights

Dry Weight: 100,000 lb.

Fuel Capacity: 2750 gal.

Water Capacity: 450 gal.

Water Maker: FCI 1800 Gpd

Holding Tank: 200 gal.

Interior Layout: 4 staterooms, 3.5 heads

Cockpit Layout: Mezzanine style stainless steel grill/deck box, transom fishbox/live well, stainless freezer

Bridge Layout: Custom Bayliss Boatworks Center Console

Extra: Teak Transom, Teak Toe Rail, Cockpit/Mezzanine, Tower, Removable Pulpit, Cockpit AC

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